Sewing kit



June 30, 1942. R. A.. BUTLAND `SEWING KIT Filed Aug. 19, 1941 PatentedJune 30, 1942 az'ineo SEWING KIT Ralph A. Butland, Washington, D. C.Application August 19, 1941,'seria1N0. 407,504

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1 928;3770 O. G. 757) Z Claims.

The invention described herein, if patented, may be'rnanufactured andused by or for the Government for governmental purposes without thepayment of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to sewing kits and Y more particularlyto'a exible pocket type gar- :ment repair kit adapted to containbuttons, needles, and other sewing articles, as well as a large numberof separate strands of yarn or thread.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a sewingkit of simple and compact arrangement, such that all articles necessaryfor emergency clothing repairs may be conveniently carried in thepocket.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing kit having athread assembly arrange-v ment for convenient removal and replacement,to the end that the thread assembly may be replenished when exhausted,or so that different types of thread assemblies may be interchangeablyused with the same type of kit. For example, thread assemblies ofvdii-ferent colors can be interchangeably supplied so that the same maybe utilized by the Army, the Navy, the C. C..C., or otheruniformedservices. Under `such conditions, the Army would require athread assembly of olive drab, khaki tan, black and white threads, whilethe C. C. C., for instance, would require worsted and. cotton ktypes ofsewing threads in spruce green, black, white, etc. Y

A further'object of the invention is to provide a thread :assemblywherein all of the individual strandsofthread are .secured at one end ina closure tabwhich is removably anchored in the kit, and wherein eachofthe individual strands of thread is frictionally secured to the tabsothat when a single strand is withdrawn for use, the remaining strandswill be secured against dis'- placement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing kit formedprincipally of a single piece of fabric or other iiexible material, soVstitched and folded as to establish normal folding lines and thusmaintain the entire kit in a neat and compact assembly. l f

, Further objects will appear hereinafter.

In practicing the principles of this disclosure, it is believedpreferably to provide akit formed of a single sheet of fabric material,folded double to provide an exterior and an interior portion,preferably'stitched together to form a plurality of small individualpockets. It is contemplated that one of these pockets will be preferablyutilized to secure the fixed end of a thread assembly arranged to extendtherefrom and that the other pockets may be .used for any desired acl infully opened position.

' cessoryequipment, such as a package of needles or a'pair of scissors.Thefabric surfaces of the kit may also be utilized for thepurpose ofcarrying buttons, which may be secured in any convenient manner,preferably by sewing with light thread so that the buttons may be easilybroken freeiof the fabric.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing accompanying and formingpart of this specication, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sewingkitconstructed in accordance with the principles ofthis invention andshown in fully closed position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the-kit illustrated in Fig.

. Fig. 3,is a detailed` sectional View taken substantially on theplaneof the line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a` fragmental perspective view ofthe stationary end of the thread assembly.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the thread assembly takensubstantially on the plane of the -line'5--5 in Fig:4.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the kit taken ysubstantially on theplane of the line 6 6 in `Fig.'2 and showing the free end of the threadassembly folded downwardly.

Fig. '7 is a detail sectional View similar to Fig. 6, showing theclosure flap of the kit folded downwardly.

With reference now more particularly to Figs. 1 and,2, it will'beseenthat the embodiment of the invention` illustrated comprises a singlesheet of Ifabric or other flexible material I0, which is preferablyprovided with a nished edge I I, which may be either folded and stitchedor bound in any customary manner.' The material II] is folded overapproximately one-half of the area of the exterior portion I4 on thefold I2 and the portions I3 and I4 are stitched together along thebottom by a line of stitching `I5 and along the edges by lines ofstitching I6 so that they are permanently secured in face-to-facerelationship with each other. The upper. edge I'I of the interiorportion I3 is left free from the exterior portion I4, and two lines I8of parallel stitching are provided approximately equidistant from theside edges so that the interior and exterior portions will Aform threepockets 2|, 22 and 23 of approximately the same size and in side-by-siderelationship with each other. These pockets may be utilized for anyconvenient purpose but it is considered desirable that the pocket I'lshall be used for some accessory instrument such as a pair of scissors.The pocket 23 may be used for a package of needles 24, and the pocket 22is preferably utilized as a receptacle for one end of a thread assembly25. The exterior portion I4 extends beyond the top of these pockets toform a closure flap I8.

The thread assembly 25 has been illustrated as being made up of aplurality of rows 26, each consisting of a number of individual strandsof thread lightly held together by light-Weight filling yarn 21. It willbe understood, however, that the invention is not limited to this exacttype of thread assembly, and is equally applicable to the use of any oneof the numerous types of stranded or braided thread packages wherein theindividual strands may be separately withdrawn when needed.

A multiplicity of buttons I9 of different sizes and styles arepreferably included in the kit and these may be secured directly to thekit by a light yarn or sewing thread, so that they may be removed bybreaking the thread. Preferably, these buttons are distributed overcertain areas of the kit not subject to folding when the kit is closedas, for example, the side portions of the closure flap I8 or theinterior portions of the pockets 2| and 23.

As hereinbefore pointed out, it is one of the objects of the inventionto provide means for securing one end of the thread assembly to the kitin such a manner as to anchor one end of each strand of thread. Withthis arrangement, as any individual strand is withdrawn, there will besuicient frictional resistance on each of the remaining strands tosecurely retain it in position against accidental removal. To accomplishthis result and to provide for convenient removal and replacement of thethread assembly, one end of the assembly is provided with a closure tab3| formed of a single piece of thin, flexible material folded across theend of the thread assembly at 32 and stitched around the edges toinclose a short portion of each individual strand of thread. Theindividual strands of thread are secured in the closure tab by means ofa plurality of parallel lines of stitching 33, so that whenever onethread is withdrawn the others will be secured against accidentalremoval,

The entire thread assembly is secured in the pocket 22 by means of abutton 34 attached to the closure tab 3| and adapted to be inserted inthe button-hole 35 in the sewing kit. The free end of the threadassembly extends from the pocket 22 across the closure flap and througha guide loop 35 adjacent the upper edge of the flap. It has been foundconvenient to form the thread assembly of such a length so that the loop36 lies at about the mid-point of the thread. With this arrangement, thethread assembly 25 can be folded downwardly over the loop withouttangling and will then be completely inclosed when the kit is closed.

To close the kit after the thread 25 has been folded downwardly, theclosure flap is folded downwardly over the upper edge I 'I of theinterior portion I3 and the side pockets 2| and 23 are each foldedinwardly along one of the lines of stitching I3 to bring the kit to thecompletely closed position illustrated in Fig. 1, where it may bemaintained by tying with the ribbon 3'I. rlhe iibbon is preferablyattached to the kit in any convenient manner as, for example, by beingstitched between the interior portion I3 and the exterior portion Ill ofthe fabric.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will be apparent that the practice ofthe principles of this invention results in the production of a sewingkit having features not heretofore disclosed in the art, since the bodyof the kit is so formed that the upper edge I'I of the interior portionforms an edge on which the closure ap may be folded to maintain the kitin a condition of neat appearance. Similarly, each of the parallel linesof stitching I8 forms a scored folding line to predetermine the exactpoint of fold of the pockets 23 and 2| and thus to maintain the kit inundistorted shape even though subjected to hard usage and abuse.Further, it will be noted that the entire thread assembly may be easilywithdrawn and replaced by the simple expedient of withdrawing button 34from the button-hole 35, but the arrangement is such that the buttoncannot be accidentally withdrawn and as long as it is in assembledposition the closure tab 3| will be anchored in the pocket 22 and thelines of stitching 33 in the tab will frictionally retain each of theindividual strands of thread against removal. When it is desired toremove a thread it may be withdrawn from the free end of the assemblyand in such case the friction exerted by the parallel lines of stitching33 will not be sufficient to prevent removal of the strands of threaddesired but will be ample to retain all of the surrounding strandsagainst accidental removal.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of theinvention, in compliance with the patent statutes, I am aware that it issubject to certain modifications without departing from the spirit ofthe invention, and I therefore wish to be limited only by the scope ofthe appended claims,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a sewing kit, the combination of a flexible folder having anexterior portion of substantially rectangular shape, an interior portionof substantially rectangular shape in face-toface relationship with theinterior surface of the exterior portion, said interior portion beingcoextensive with the exterior portion in width and extendingapproximately one-half of the length of said exterior portion, and beingstitched to the exterior portion around three sides; parallel lines ofstitching spaced apart from each other to form scores to facilitatefolding and to denne a plurality of pockets in side-by-side relationshipwith each other, one of said pockets being of size and shape adapted toreceive one end of a thread assembly; a thread assembly extending intosaid pocket, said thread assembly including a plurality of separate,independent threads of different colors and materials extending in ageneral longitudinal direction with respect to the thread assembly, aclosure tab attached to the end of said thread assembly and constitutingtwo thicknesses of relatively thin iiexible material positioned onopposite sides of the thread assembly and united by parallel lines ofstitches, said individual stitches being arranged to pass between theindividual threads of the assembly and exert frictional resistance tothe removal of each of the individual threads from the assembly; anchormeans cn the closure tab to maintain said tab in fixed position withrespect to the folder and to permit removal and replacement of thethread assembly, cooperating anchor means on the pocket of the folder,and a retaining loop surrounding the thread assembly at a point remotefrom said pocket and in alignment therewith.

2. In a sewing kit,` the combination of a flexible folder having anexterior portion of substantially rectangular shape, an interior portionof substantially rectangular shape in face-to-face relationship with theinterior surface oi the exterior portion, said interior portion beingcoextensive with the exterior portion in width and extendingapproximately one-half of the length of said exterior portion, and beingstitched to the exterior portion around three sides, parallel lines ofstitching spaced apart from each other to form scores to facilitatefolding and to define a plurality of pockets in side-by-siderelationship with each other, one of said pockets being otsize and shapeadapted to receive one end of a thread assembly; and a thread assemblyextending into said pocket, said thread assembly including a pluralityof separate, independent threads of different colors and materialsextending in a general longitudinal direction with respect to the threadassembly, the thread assembly being united by parallel lines ofstitches, said individual stitches being arranged to pass between theindividual threads of the assembly and exert frictional resistance tothe removal of each of the individual threads from the assembly.

RALPH A. BUTLAND.

